There are about 12,000 homeless people in São Paulo, and most live off begging for money and food in the downtown area, according to statistics by the Secretary of Social Assistance of Sao Paulo. The east side’s population of 3.3 million mostly consists of migrants from Brazil’s poorer north-eastern states.

Cidades Sem Fome - Cities Without Hunger - is an NGO that has introduced an alternative to social security food baskets by mobilizing the community to participate in the production of food in disadvantaged communities with high population density, in order to improve the situation of groups at risk. The programme makes use of vacant public and private land for vegetable gardens.

The programme runs income-generating community gardens, nutrition education, environmental and hygiene awareness as well as small processing units for harvested produce. Cidades Sem Fome uses a participatory community education method and has trained communities in technical and leadership skills.

The project managed to reduce malnutrition and promote environmental improvements in the cultivation areas; and to provide poor communities with work opportunities, professional capacity building and income generation through the sale of excess food.